Hello!
Have you been journaling too much? You’re feeling the urge to make those pages fast, fast, fast! Maybe you can slow down a little…
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Slow it Down!
How fast do you make a page in your art journal? Whip one, two, three out in an evening and Boom! You can check that task off the list for the day. Pretty soon, you’ve got an entire book chock full of pages – now what?
When folks first start art journaling they seem to want to finish pages quickly. It’s part of learning the creative process around art journaling and seeing fast results is a real, and important, part of that.
But, once that phase is past, I think it’s time to look deeper into the process and meaning of the pages we’re creating. That often means taking more time, sometimes several creative sessions, with a page while we wait for the work to develop and speak. Pages made this way are often much more densely layered and complex and may take days or even weeks to come to fruition.
I find it helpful to work on this type of page in steps: background or base, then textures and elements, and focal points and words (if any) last. Once those layers – and there could be many! – are in place, let the work sit undisturbed for a while to see if it wants anything else. Give it try and see how it works for you…
Of course, there’s always going to be a day when you just want to make a pretty page that makes you happy and there’s nothing wrong with that. Finding a balance between fast and slow is the creative joy in life!
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